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Realtors Flock to Hawaii Life on Maui

Posted by Matt Beall, PB on August 10th, 2010 | Tags: ,

Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point (among other books), says that “…word of mouth is something created by three very rare and special psychological types… Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen”. I think Malcolm would see a very familiar pattern playing out with Hawaii Life on Maui. In the last few months, more than 10 Realtors have sought out Hawaii Life and joined our team on Maui, bringing years of experience and a wide variety of professional designations with them. What makes more interesting is that we haven’t been recruiting. Everyone on our team has come to us because they’re just the type of ‘Mavens’ that Gladwell talks about:

Kathleen Wilson, R(S)

Kathleen Wilson, R(S) brings her dynamic spirit and powerful focus with her. She’s an REO Specialist, which gives her a keen insight into the facts about the current market from a very analytical point of view. Consistent with being an REO Listing Agent, she works harder than anyone we know… and is incredibly responsive. E-mails, texts, instant message chats, phone calls… they’re all utilized to the fullest degree. She brings with her a full-time assistant, who also happens to be a licensed commercial broker. If you want the inside scoop on upcoming foreclosures on Maui, call Kathleen. She always has REOs in the pre-marketing pipeline. In her few short months with Hawaii Life, Kathleen has already closed several transactions and continues to bring on priced-to-sell inventory.

Kevin Spaise, R(S)

Kevin Spaise, R(S) is the author and publisher of the 400-page Maui Condo Book. There isn’t a condo complex on Maui that he doesn’t know about. He’s a walking encyclopedia. Publishing and selling such an extensive resource for condominium information on Maui has also provided Kevin with powerful relationships throughout the real estate industry. Real Estate brokers and agents, title and escrow companies, appraisers and lenders have all utilized Kevin’s knowledge-base. Kevin has called Maui home for over 10 years, and has intimate knowledge of South Maui, as Kihei is home for he and his wife Sherry. He’s done an excellent job at sharing Hawaii Life’s value proposition with Sellers in South Maui, as he brings new listings to market regularly.

Ken Molina, R(S)

Ken Molina, R(S) was born and raised on Maui, and has been licensed to sell real estate for over 20 years. He’s a graduate of Maui High School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He’s earned a variety of sales accolades and professional designations along the way. He’s a designated EcoBroker, a Senior Real Estate Specialist, a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR), and also a Certified Energy Surveyor. He’s contributed excellent articles about home energy use, and his appreciation of architecture. He currently lives in Kihei’s Maui Meadows subdivision.

Rustin Singleton, R(S)

Rustin Singleton, R(S) watches Maui’s real estate market like a hawk. “He’s almost like a stock-broker” says our Director of Sales, Tobi Fisher. Rustin knows West Maui and Central Maui extremely well. He’s like a bull-dog once he’s given any assignment. As an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, Rustin excels and sifting through the inventory and finding the perfect property for his clients. His passion for his clients often leads to lifetime friendships. Rustin is married to a full-blooded native Hawaiian, who was born and raised on Maui, and who he credits with teaching him about the real “Aloha Spirit”.

Also among Maui’s new team members are Mariah Dunham, R(S) and Alex Cortez, R(S), who work as a team. Mariah serves on the fund-raising committee for Habitat for Humanity, and Alex puts his experience in the military to use in creating marketing systems for their clients.

We’re also welcoming Sage Spalding and Bob Whitmere. Sage owns a very popular outrigger canoe tour company in Wailea… (so if you ever want to see property from the water, he’s your guy) and Bob has been a Realtor since 2002 and now lives in upcountry Maui with his wife and child.

We’re pretty excited about the new team on Maui. All told, we’ve added decades of experience and numerous designations to our Maui office. And, there’s more to come! Stay tuned…

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Frustrated over their inability to use your Mac to access Hawaii Information Service?

Currently, in order to use a Mac to access H.I.S. you’ve had to use a virtual machine with either Parallels or Boot Camp.

If you have Snow Leopard, you can now bypass virtual machine using Safari. Read entire post →

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Click on the image or here to vote

Inman News, People’s Choice Awards information and voting

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President’s message for July 2010

Returning back from the California Association of Realtors (CAR) on Saturday June 12, I couldn’t wait to hit my garden and pick some fresh veggies. I picked some chard, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lettuce and caught a big Tilapia out of the pond and headed home for dinner. Unfortunately, nobody was home except Brianna. Laura, my wife was off care taking her mother from surgery and my youngest Chloe was off to Camp Imua to run the horse riding for the camp. Dinner was great, but I was beat and trying to shift my clock back to Maui time again. We had some great food and incredible hosting by the California leadership, but home grown is always “ mo betta “

Berton Hamamoto, Judy Kalbrener, Nancy Donahue-Jones and I spent 4 days with about 3000 California members, directors, and executive officers during their mid year legislative meetings in Sacramento. California does it all super sized. They have an executive committee of around 30 members (we have 6), they have hundreds of directors (we have around 20), and they have a small committee and a designated person for every legislator in the state. Their legislative day looks a lot like NAR’s visit to Washington DC in May. With a large legislative staff, they are able to get in to every nook and cranny in Sacramento.

Super sizing comes at a cost though. Their budget for their legislative program is huge and effective. This year, leadership pushed through a dues increase of $49 totally dedicated towards their legislative and PAC programs. This can be offset by a voluntary contribution to their PACs, but the intention is still to influence legislation.

Why is this happening and could it also happen in Hawaii?   Read entire post →

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Realtors are Here to Stay!

Posted by Ken Molina, RS on April 26th, 2010 | Tags: ,

Remember the  panic in the early 90’s when the once secured listing pool in our Multiple Listing Service became less controlled and more available to the general public. We were all squawking that if our lifeblood (listings) were casually placed out into the internet, it would be the demise of the Realtor as we knew it. Well yes….and no.  15 years later we are still here but our purpose and roles have changed. Our business has become more streamlined, focused and more targeted.

Here are a few interesting statistics from an ‘09 National Association of Realtor’s survey:

  • 86% of Buyer’s used the internet
  • 87% of Buyer’s who used the internet, used a real estate professional
  • 74% of Buyer’s who did not use the internet, used a real estate professional
  • Typical internet Buyer is; 39 years old, married and yearly income is $74,300
  • Typical non-internet Buyer is; 51 years old, married and yearly income is $61,000

These figures show me that the internet Buyer uses a Realtor more often than a non internet Buyer….interesting. Read entire post →

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Traditionally in Hawaii, we hold enormous first birthday luaus and as Broker-in-Charge of Big Island Sales, this would have been my responsibility to plan on behalf of the company. I say “would have” because the truth is, the one-year anniversary of our first transaction closing on the Big Island has come and gone without fanfare. Apparently we’ve been too busy providing superior customer service to our very satisfied clients and customers to notice.

In the past twelve months, Hawaii Life Big Island assisted 20 Sellers in conveying their property and moving on with their lives. It’s an honor — during what is certain to be remembered as one of the most difficult real estate markets in history — to have been of service to people and making a difference in their lives. Perhaps someday we’ll write a book and tell all the “stories” about this market, right now it’s still a little too fresh and for some, painful. Read entire post →

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Undisclosed payments in short sale transactions, especially those paid outside of escrow, may violate the law, including RESPA, laws against loan fraud, and licensing laws.

Short sale agents have increasingly reported to have had requests for agents and their clients to pay junior lien holders and others, oftentimes outside of escrow.

One common scenario is when a short sale seller’s senior lender authorizes a payment of $3,000, for example, to extinguish a junior lien, but the junior lender demands that the buyer pays an additional $9,000 outside of escrow. Not only would it be risky for a buyer to pay outside of escrow, but concealing this additional payment from a federally-insured senior lender may constitute loan fraud, which is a crime punishable by 30 years imprisonment plus a $1 million fine (18 U.S.C. section 1014). Read entire post →

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Lunch with the Pros

Posted by Hawaii Life on March 15th, 2010 | Tags: , ,

Earlier this week I had the supreme pleasure of going to lunch and conversing with some of the top Real Estate agents in the business today!

They’re so busy it was amazing we could all find time to get together at the well-known Kona Brewing Company, in the heart of Kailua-Kona. Their delicious strawberry spinach salad was a hit. Read entire post →

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Senate Bill SB2602, HD1 (PDF), has passed through final committee review in the Hawaii State legislature and will go to Governor Lingle for her signature. In a previous conversation between Governor Lingle and the Hawaii Association of REALTORS (HAR), Governor Lingle indicated that she would support the bill. This is a proactive bill supported and lobbied for by HAR Government Affairs Committee with the support of the Hawaii Real Estate Commission. Read entire post →

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The President Makes a Move

Posted by Hawaii Life on February 24th, 2010 | Tags: , , , ,

The Hawaii Association of Realtors’ President, Tracy Stice, has joined Hawaii Life Real Estate Services as the Broker-In-Charge of Hawaii Life’s new Maui branch office, located in the former corporate headquarters of Maui Land & Pineapple in Kahului.

Tracy Stice, R Hawaii Association of Realtors President 2010 and Broker-In-Charge of Hawaii Life Real Estate Services on Maui

Hawaii Life’s commitment to education and technology appealed to Mr. Stice. In his recent interview as HAR President, he told the Hawaii Realtor Journal:

“The market is permanently changed. Sitting in offices and waiting for people to walk through the door is obsolete. You need more internet contacts and you have to constantly educate yourself to acquire new skills. Those who don’t adapt to new technologies won’t make it.”

Mr. Stice has been a licensed Realtor on Maui for more than 30 years, and his reputation as a professional and community volunteer is well known throughout Hawaii. He has served as the President of the Realtors Association of Maui, and has chaired the Hawaii Association of Realtors Political Action Committee and the Legislative Committee. In 2004, he was named Realtor Broker of the Year by the Realtors Association of Maui. Read entire post →

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